Welcome to DiVITA Speaks!!

How Much is YOUR Time Worth?

By Chloe DiVita

As a small business owner it’s important to have a price. Whether that price is for a product or a service, there has to be a price. A lot of time can go into coming up with a price. We have to be sure to cover costs, even indirect ones like rent and insurance, and hopefully earn a profit. Strike that. We MUST earn a profit. After all, that is the whole reason for being in business, right?

So, why do so many small business owners feel like they have to justify their price to the point of being worth it? It’s the business owner’s responsibility to be competitive, and justify the cost of services or products to that extent, but to have to prove worth on a continuous basis seems a bit ridiculous.

We are all in business, and our time has value. Let’s not forget that, and respect each others products, services, and prices. If it’s not worth it, we’ll quickly know.

Next time you get a $50 bill from your CPA for a 15 minute phone call, remember that you called him or her for a reason. Being an IRS interpreter should have some worth, and your 15 minute phone call probably isn’t the only one received that day. If he/she did not charge for those minutes the knowledge no longer has worth. And, if you don’t want to pay that $50 – whether it’s to your attorney, your CPA, your doctor, whoever – then see how long it takes you to answer your own question. All of a sudden $50 seems like a great value.

Black Friday...Cyber Monday-What Next?

By Benecia Beyer

"Cyber Monday," the term coined for the Monday after Thanksgiving, comes on the heels of the busy "Black Friday" shopping day when many brick-and-mortar retailers begin turning a profit. The good news for online shoppers this year, is that "Cyber Monday" is becoming the Web shopping equivalent to "Black Friday" when retailers launch major sales and discounts to drive traffic, analysts said.

According to comScore Networks, a leader in measuring the digital age, during the first 24 days of November this year, total online retail spending reached $8.31 billion, marking a 23 percent increase versus the corresponding days in 2005. "Black Friday" saw particularly high online sales with $434 million spent, up 42 percent versus last year.

Heavy traffic to leading retailers' Web sites - which in the case of Walmart.com resulted in an outage at the site - comScore found high levels of online retail spending on Black Friday (there is a special website devoted to what's available on Black Friday) this year. "With 42 percent growth versus the same day last year, it's clear that many consumers opted for the convenience and sanity of shopping from home in order to avoid mayhem at the malls and to take advantage of the extremely attractive deals being offered online."

Personally -- I participated in neither. I'm waiting for the next new coined phrase -- "Tax Tuesday" or maybe "W-2 Wednesday" !

Improving Your Cash Flow

By Benecia Beyer

Cash shortages can prevent you from meeting your financial obligations, and they can make it difficult to plan for the future and expand your company. That's why you should try to improve your cash flow by making some minor adjustments in your business practices. These seven ideas can provide relief and ultimately change your cash flow:

• Tighten Inventory. Keeping too much product on hand can tie up a great deal of cash. Make sure your inventory turns over at a regular pace.
• Bill early and often. Bill a project when it's complete, and invoice products soon as they ship. Keep a detailed receivables report and act immediately on overdue accounts.
• Don't expand until you have the cash to support growth. Figure out what your projected expansion will cost and make sure you have the cash to cover it.
• Have a cushion to cover a cash flow crunch. Chances are, a cash crunch will come sooner or later - perhaps due to a temporary slump in the economy or your industry. If you're prepared for rough times, you can ride them out.
• Stretch out payables. Don't pay every bill as soon as it arrives - wait 30 or 60 days and keep the cash on hand. If suppliers want their money more quickly, ask about discounts for early payments.
• Consider raising your prices. Check out what the competition's doing and make sure your prices or rate's aren't too low.
• Comparison shop. The Internet makes it much easier to compare prices for everything from airplane tickets to office supplies to computers. Start using the web to get the best deals.

Will you be prepared to retire?

By Chloe DiVita

Investing, it’s a huge topic currently. What are the best choices? What type of investing has the best return? The best tax savings? There are endless questions to ask, and many different answers to give.

The best investment usually comes down to your specific situation. Are you single? Married? What’s your income level? Your age? If you find a good Investment Advisor he/she will get to know you and your situation before advising you on a plan. My advisor has given us some good advice, and helped us start up on a plan that will maximize our savings. Thomas Ritzdorf. I recommend him if you are looking.

The earlier you start the better. At 25 if you invest $100 you can retire a millionaire at 65. Waiting until 30 would require double the monthly investment to reach the same end goal. In other words, if you haven’t started, what are you waiting for?

Be sure to use the internet as a tool of education. You can educate yourself about what types of investments there are. Are you thinking Roth IRA? Traditional IRA? SEP? The more you know beforehand, the better questions you can ask

I like the Roth IRA. It suits my abilities to invest, and the idea of getting money tax free when I’m ready to retire is quite attractive. However, like most plans, there are limits on how much you can invest each year. If you want to invest more you will have to pick more than just the Roth.

I encourage everyone to start thinking seriously about their future. If you are investing, is it enough? Do you know where it will leave you when you are 65? I know I don’t plan on going anywhere, and I’d like to live comfortably in my old age, so I research and I invest. I hope you do the same.

Security Freeze

By Benecia Beyer

Nearly 10 million Americans fall victim to identity theft each year. Financial institutions, credit bureaus, and other companies have not done a good job securing personal data. As a result, identity theft is one of the fastest growing financial crimes.

I've seen the movies and watched how it happened -- and I always thought to myself, "but that could never happen to me" -- as I'm sure some of the victims had the same thoughts themselves!

Since 2003, all California residents have had the right to freeze their credit reports, prohibiting credit from being issued in their names. This was a first for the United States. Four other states have offered their residents the same rights and over the next year, four more will offer this right. Most importantly, effective July 1st, the state of Colorado has made this available to all residents and to any consumer -- you do not need to be a previous victim of identity theft - as you do in some states.

Anyone can ask the three major credit reporting agencies to place a fraud alert on their credit reports. Fraud alerts are supposed to alert you when someone applies for credit in your name and they signal creditors to contact you for permission to issue credit in your name. Residents of any state can put a fraud alert on their reports. Creditors, however, aren't required to abide by or even check the alert.

A credit (security) freeze goes one step further. With a credit freeze, no one can open any form of credit in your name. Your credit file is off limits to potential lenders, insurers and even potential employers. They can't even access it. But this doesn't mean that you won't be able to get credit for yourself or allow potential employers to run a background check. The three credit bureaus assign a personal identification number for you when you freeze your report. Using this PIN, you can lift the freeze when ever necessary.

With a credit-lock down like this in place, a criminal can have your name, birthday and social security number - but it won't matter -- because no credit will be issued. Period. It's the only tool to available that actually gives consumers the ability to prevent identity theft before it happens.

To lock down your credit report, you must contact each of the three credit-reporting agencies. TransUnion, Equifax, Experian. You will need to send a certified letter with your name, address, social security number, date of birth, and proof of current address (i.e. utility bill).

Equifax Security Freeze
PO Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-888-766-0008

Experian Security Freeze
PO Box 1017
Allen, TX  75013
1-888-397-3742
customerservice@creditexpert.com

TransUnion Security Freeze
PO Box 6790
Fullerton, CA  92834
1-800-680-7289
fvad@transunion.com

There is no fee for the first freeze, $10 for each additional freeze. $10 to lift temporarily or permanently per credit reporting agency.